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Sensing Inside

| Nirmala | Self-Inquiry

Sensing Inside

Published on
29 November 2008
Topic:
Self-Inquiry
Author:
Nirmala

We often look into our mind to know something, and so when we want to know ourselves, we often look into the mind for that also. But the mind is full of thoughts about what we want to know and never the thing itself. You will never find an apple or a lover or a sunset or anything in your mind, just thoughts about these things. And you will never find your true Self in the mind, just a lot of thoughts about the true Self. That is just what the mind is made of and so that is what you find in there.

What if you sense in your heart instead? I am not suggesting you think about what you might find in your heart. What if you actually sense the space inside your chest? What is actually here right now within the space of your body? It can be helpful to rest your hands over your chest, and then simply notice what is really present beneath your hands. No need to think much about it, just directly sense what is here.

First of all, how mysterious is it that there is a body with a heart? And even more mysterious is the simple existence of space beneath the hands resting on your heart. What is this simple mystery of a place called here? Why is there a "here" that holds your body and everything else that is present? What is that space itself under your hands like? If for just a moment you do not think about what is here and instead just sense the actual space under your hands, what do you find?

And even if right now you feel relatively little or even nothing in the space of your heart, what is that "nothing" like? What are the qualities of the space itself? Is it light or heavy, bright or dark, clear or foggy? And if there are specific sensations present in the space of your Heart, what are those like? What does it mean that there are sensations here inside of you? How is it possible to be sensing them? What is sensing them?

These questions are not meant to get you thinking about the mystery of your body, the space your body is in or the awareness that senses the body and space. These questions are simply an invitation to experience all of it just as it is right now. Your thoughts will never satisfy your curiosity about your true nature, but this direct sensing can show you more than you ever imagined about your true nature.

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